Perrysburg woman named Mother of the Year by state twins club

Perrysburg resident Diane France was selected as the Ohio Federation of Mothers of Twins Club’s (OFMOTC) Mother of the Year on June 25 in Dayton.

France was one of 13 nominated for the honor through clubs throughout the state after she received local honors for the Toledo area in December.

“I am honored to be chosen as the Ohio Mother of the Year,” France said. “Certainly all the other ladies were deserving mothers too. I was happy to win but then on the other hand I felt bad that the other moms couldn’t win.”

France and her husband of 14 years, Steve, have 9-year-old triplets. Macy and Melissa are their two daughters and Michael their lone son.

Diane France and her children

“Anyone who has had the opportunity to get to know Diane knows that she is a very caring and thoughtful person who thinks of others before herself,” President of the Toledo Mothers of Twins Club Julie Overy said. “She is such a valuable person to be in our club.”

France attributed her success, which translated to her ‘Mother of the Year’ award, to her mother. Dorothy Carp raised France as a single mom after the death of France’s father when she was 3 years old.

“My mom really taught me to be a mother as a single mom,” France said. “I learned in life that what matters most is family, your time and being generous and looking out for other people. It’s not about how much money is in your bank account, it’s about the people that you have in your own life. I’ve lived by that with my own children and I hope I’ve instilled that in them.”

With those early lessons, France has said that she’s already seen the benefits with her children, even at an early age.

“I’ve tried to involve them in a lot of the charity-type things that we do and I have the kids get involved now that the are older,” France said. “It’s good because I know they look out for other people. They will come home and say, ‘Mommy, can we do this?’ and it warms my heart to know my children think of other people too.”

France was originally an oncology nurse before she gave birth to the triplets. She left her job to become a stay-at-home mother soon after.